Island



2 Sheets-8heet 1';

(No Model.)

G. 'D. ROGERS.

FIRE ALARM APPARATUS.

Patented Apr. 27, 1886.

FireuQZw-m wart-era Inventor.-

. (No Model.) 'z'sheets-shez 2.

, G. D. ROGERS.

FIRE ALARM APPARATUS. No. 340,618. Patented Apr.'27,-1886.

"Illlumnm I J UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES 1). ROGERS,- OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

FIRE-ALARM APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part9! Letters Patent No. 340,618. dated April J21, 1886.

I Application ma June 20, less.

with the drawings furnished and forming a part thereof, is a clear, true, and complete description of my invention.

My said improvements relate to that class of fire-alarm systems which involve the em-. ployment of a central or headquarters station,

and a series of public district boxes-or alarm.-

stations at which alarms can be'turned inwhether the centralstation be provided with automatic apparatus for distributing the alarm or'with' simple .annunciators for' observation, by attendants, it being well-known that the.

district boxes in one case necessarilyinvolve clock-work or rotatingmechanism of some kind, and that in the other case a simple pushbutton may be relied upon. However, ,the

main fire-alarm system may be arranged, and

however the district alarm-boxes maybejconstructed and operated my improvementsare applicable thereto, with onlysuch variations as would be incident tow-the special conditions involved in each case. l

So far as my knowledge extends all district fire-alarm boxes as heretofore arranged,whether located in streets or in buildings, are for the purpose of obviating mischievous false alarms securely locked, the key or keys of each box being in the custody ofone or more neighbors.

'It is well known that expensive delays in sounding alarms frequently occur, not only because the custodians of the keys widely known, but also because they are some times not available, and still further because of the remoteness of the box from the fire, as well sometimes of the ignorance of parties first cognizant'of afire as to a proper course of action in connection with the district boxes. It

is also well known that when district boxes are located within buildings connected with large manufacturing establishments it too frequently occurs that access thereto is temporarily obstructed by doors liable to'be locked, thus necessitating a loss of time.

are seldom Serial No. 98,687. (Nof model.)

The object .of my invention is to enablea public firealarm box to be fully controlled at a distanceand to economize in time in turning in alarms. To- .these ends I employ, one-or more local electric circuits connected with an alarm-box controller, which can be operated by means ofkeys or buttons in said dircuits,

and thereby enable alarms to be turned in precisely as if said box had been operated,

, hand in the-usual manner; or, in other words,-

to turn in an ordinary alarm, or in emergencies to turn in a repeated or general alarm.

My apparatus difi'ers from certain prior con-v triyances by which. private establishments have been connected by a local circuit with a public alarm-box in thatthey admitted' (ofa single or'ordinary alarm only,-and having been oncethus operated 'theyhad to be reset or adjusted at the alarm-box before they could be again-operated, whereas with-my apparatus ,an alarm through the same box can be many times repeated, if need be,and the boxesneed only be visitediat more or less frequent inter- ;vals for winding;- Even when ,a single private establishment is thus connected with a public alarm-box it is obviousl'yimportant, as in cases of great danger, that the box becapable of being again operated through the same local circuit'without first'visiting the box and readjusting th'ebox-controller; but it isof still greater importance when, as now arranged by me,'any one I box-controller is or may be in eluded-in a public ,circuit'embraci'ng many differentpremises, and more especially when, as byme for the first time, a box-controller can ,beflincluded within anynumber of separate local circuits, both public and private, so that consecutive alarms can be turned in'fronr the same 'box, not only from all the circuits, but

from'any number of points in each circuit.

At the district box, whi'chis sometimes called I the fire alarm station, I employ within a box in what is known as the GamewellSystern, a mechanical'motor or box-controller, electrically controlled, which performs the same, service in depressing and releasing a hand-lever which a person would perform should be, after opening 'a box, turn in an alarm, and when an alarm' has been sounded the apparatus within the box is left as before,

in condition for another alarm; Ifa'rbox contains a simple push b'utton, similar'mechai ism may be employed." If the-{districtbox'con-' tains a hand-crank .for rotating affcontact tact wheel,instead of merelydefljecting 'a' lever;

circuits may be'either open d closed, metallic or ground, and the devices employedin said circuits for making or breaki-ngaeurrent therein may pivoted switches,. or-spring keys, or push-buttons, or-any. other well-known arrangements for controlling contactrpoiuls, and said local eircuitscan'atonebr more points be also placed under the control of 1 such well-known automatic apparatus as is in various ways operated by thermometric ,influ-.,

ences. Recognizing the importanceof guarding such local circuits as far aspo'ssible against mischievous tampering and falsealarms, I provide for so protecting the several push-buttons or switches .iu'each local'eircuitthat if any one or more of them be operated for giving an alarm the fact thereof cannot be con-' cealed, thus enabling the occupants of premises from which'an alarm has been sounded to be held to astrict accountability, i

It has heretofore been proposed to employ ing of the glass before sounding an alarm; but I obviate the expense of glass-covers and the danger incident to hastily breaking them 5 3 key boxer casing to which theyma-y bereadily applied, It has also been heretofore proposed, in connection with the fire-alarm boxes coupled directly with central stations, to provide paper seals secured to the under side of the cover of the'box by means of special fast ening devices-suchas clamping-rings, screws, and thumb-nuts-zill of which devices are obviated by me, because the mereact of closing 4 5 the cover properly secures my seal in'position, and the mere opening of the door leaves a broken seal accessible to-read y displacement, and enables a new seal to be promptly inthe door when it is next closed. 7

To more particularly describe my invention, I will refer to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a graphic illustration of a public fire-alarm system including the headquarters or central station, the usual bell-- towers, district boxes or alarm-stations, and my local circuits, in combination with said boxes, as employed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is an interior front view of one of the station-boxes. Fig. 3 is a rearside. view-of the box-controller detached from the box; Fig. 4 is a top view of said box-controller. Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively front and sectional views of a guarded local-circuit key. Fig. 7 represents a'pa-per key-seal detached.

glass-covered casingsfor thus protecting a fire-' alarm button or key, thus requiring the breakby employing paper seals for guarding a novel v serted in a proper position to be confined by i Fig. 1 theme-alarm headquarters A, bell- ;tolwers B, and district'boxes or fire-alarm sta- A in its C,D,E,and Fare to be understood asillusbreakjwheel, a mechanical -inotor is requisite," I 5 as inthe Gamewell system {but-it isso applied; as to'in partthe requisite movement of the con;- n

' ;sys t em', each-box having, as shownin Fig. 2, a In accordance with my invention the local ting, so far as is required for the purposesis specification, a public fire-alarm apparattis' embodying the well-known Gamewell spring hand-lever, G, which, when depressed, permits the clock-work at the rear ofthe faceboard G to rotate a break-wheel, and thereby communicate-to headquarters and to the belltowers-the number of the box.-'- My improveine'nfs involve the addition to such or similar systems of 'oueor more local electric circuits to'one or more of the district boxes. As here showmthe alarm boxes C, D, and E are respectively'provided with metallic local 'circuits, and-box F- is provided with two sepa-v rate local earth-circuits. In' each local circuit 3 moreor-less of the adjacent principal buildings 'are included, especially such as may be most remotefrom the alarm-box, so that in the event of a fire on any of said premises an alarm Jmay be communicated through the proper box'to headquarters, as if the box had been-visited, opened, and operated.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 3, and 4, I will describe the box controller. or' local circuit motor H as preferably constructed by me. It

embodies a spring and winding-arbor, a, in the spring-case a, a star-wheel, b, on said arbor, a vibrating ball-escapement, c,-which engages with the star-wheel to serve as a'governing, device for limiting the speed of rotation of the spring-arbor when free'to rotate, and a stopdisk, d,- which is mounted upon the springarbor a and rotates with the star-wheel.j The stop-disk has its stop-notch or shoulder at d, and this abuts against a stud, d, and limits the disk 'to one revolution. The stud d is mounted upon an armature-lever, e, provided with a tension-spring, e, and said armature is controlled by the electro-magnet e, the helices or coils of which are connected in awell-known manner with the local circuits f. The stop disk d, as before stated, revolves with the windiugarbor a, and it is provided with a crank-pin, d, to which the rod or link 9 is connected, so that when the stop-disk makes one revolution it causes the link 9 to be moved vertically downward and then back again. The outer end of said link has a strap or slot, 9, through which the spring-lever G of the alarm-box projects, and therefore when saidrod is reciprocated to and fro said lever is de= flccted, permitting the box to operate as if an alarm had been turned in by hand at the box'. The slot at 9 enables the lever G to be freely deflected by hand without interferingwith the motor H, and a similar substantially flexible connection between said motor and lever may be provided for by the use of a chain or strip of spring metal, butit should have means for convenient longitudinal adjustment, and the link or red shown is constructed for that purpose in two lengths,and connected by a sleevenut, g, tapped to receive right and led; hand threads which arecut on the adj-scent ends of the link.

In the drawings, Fig. 1,-the alarm-boxes 0,

D, and E have metallic local circuits f, and

key, 7:, and these are in each instance coupled into the circuit, so that. either'will cause the motor or box-controller H to turn in an alarm,

and, inasmuch as all of them communicate with the same box, no confusion can possibly occur. In either of said buildings a thermostatic apparatus can be employed, as at k, for

automatically turning in an alarm through a public district box.

Instead of the metallic circuits I can em ploy radiating ground-circuits, as illustrated in connection with box F. In this case, as before described, the battery 1' is located in the building nearest the box on the circuit,

and the several circuit-keys k are each connect'ed with theline and with alocal ground, f,

and one terminal of the helix in the motor H is also grounded at f With these grounded circuits the alarm would be properlyturne'd in even if every key on all the circuits should be operated at once, although of course only the nearest keys would really serve their pur pose. With these radially-grounded circuits a batterymay be-employed on each; or if a battery be located in the box or closely adjacent thereto -all of the circuits could merge at the battery and enable it to serve for all.

It willbe seen that my motor-or box-coutroller may beincluded in more'than one local circuit, as shown in connection with the box F, with which one grounded circuit includes three buildings, and a second similar circuit only one building, and should an alarm be needed in either circuit after an alarm 'had been sounded from the other it can be done, thus providing for the required generalalarm for indicating a special emergency at that particular locality.

I guard againsta wrongful use of the alarmkeys in the local circuit in a simple and novel manner.

As seenin Figs. 5, 6, and .7, I employ a paper scab-Z, which is a' thin paper disk, inscribed, stamped, or printed inanyway to avoid wrongful'imitatiou, and these seals are to be only procurable from and furnished by an oificer of the public fire department, and he also has the only key which fits the lock of the-hinged cover m on the front of the casing, which contains the circuit-key k and its-button, this latter being accessible to the finger only by way of a central opening in the cover 11'. The seal 1 is interposed between the cover m and the casing so as to wholly cover or guard the button of the circuitkey, and said sealis securelylleld by thepunctuiing-points m, so that it will be practically impossible for a circuit-key to be operated without mp turing a seal, thus clearly locating the source 5 of an alarm turned in on any one of the local circuits.

While I prefer a mechanical box controller or motor substantially as described, it is ob: vious that a simple electro-magnet may be applied to a'Gamewell box for liftingthe usual detent-lever from the stop-wheel and allowing the box to llesonnded without departure from certain features of my invention; but

. this would involve more or less reorganization of the mechanism now used in said boxes. In such boxes as have a hand-crank my motor H can'be employed by causing the link gto serve as a rack to engage with a ratcheted gear on the handciank-sh'aft, and for such boxes" as contain a mere push-button said link y, if. connected to a bell-crank lever, would cause one end of said lever to press upon the button, and so turn in an alarm.

My invention will be found of great value in the suburbs of towns and cities'where alarmboxes are widely separated, and in thicklysettlcd localities,'where prompt alarms are all the more important, much time will be saved by placing each public alarm-box practically within reach of more or less of the most important establishments in its vicinity. In

some cases it will be desirable to connect a,

gong, n, with the motor H, so that simultaneously with the'turning in of an alarm on any local circuit the immediate neighborhood may be-aroused,.and for this'service theball of'the governor may e relied upon as a striker.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-.

I 1. The combination, substantially as 'hereinbefore described, of a public fire-alarm box provided with means for operating it by hand in a usual manner, a box-controller therein which embodies driving mechanism and electro-magnet, and a stop which normally restrains said mechanism from continuously 0p-' crating, but which is released therefrom andreapplied through said magnet, and one or more local electric circuits which include the coil of said magnet and are provided with keys or switches, whereby the boxmay be op- IIS 'erated, as usual, by'haud, and whereby said' driving mechanism may be repeatedly released bythe manipulation of any one or more keys in any one or all of the circuits, and enable repeated alarms to be turned in from one or more-points in any one circuit or in different local circuits.

2. The combination, in an electric firs alarm system, of a' public district or station alarm-box electrically communicating with fire-alarm headquarters and provided with means for operating it by \hand in a usual manner, and a box-controller in said box containing driving mechanism, a stop-disk which -a stud normally engaged with said stop-disk,

but released therefromby said magnet, and

one or more local electric circuits including said electro-magnets,and provided with keys or switches, whereby-said magnet may be made to release said disk and enable analarm to be repeatedly turned. in from any one or more keys in either circuit or successively turnedin from keys in difl'erent circuits.

3. The combination, with a complete firealarm box provided with means for operating it by hand in'a usual manner, of the mechanically-driven stop-disk, the reciprocating link bywhich said disk is loosely connected'tojthe box-operating lever, the stopfor'said disk, the electro-magnet by which said stop may be moved, and one or more local electric circuits including the coil of said magnet and provided with keys, substantially as described, whereby said box can be operated inthe usual manher, or one or more successive alarms turned in cither'from one or more keys on the same local circuit or from 'keys in difi'erent circuits. 4. The combination, with a complete firealarm box provided with means for operating it by hand in a usual manner, of abox-controller operated through local electric circuits, and

embodying driving mechanism having a star'- wheel and a vibrating-governor operating as a signal-striker, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a public fire-alarm box provided with means for operating it by hand in-a'usual manner, of a box-controller embodying driving mechanism controlled, through a local'electric circuit,'and keys in said circuit; which are housed within casings having locked covers, and are guarded by 7 paper seals clamped by said covers, substantially as described. r

CHARLES 1). ROGERS.

Witnesses:

W. H. THURSTON, J. O. B. Woons. 

